Septic tank



Jan. 16, 1945- v G. E. EVANS E1' AL SEPTIC TANK Filed Feb. 16, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. GEaRGEEmNs.

IRWIN GUT/MN.

' W4?? Mimi@ ATTORNEY Jan.' 16, 1945. G E .EVANS ETAL 2,367,270

' y s'EPTIc TANK Filed Feb. 16,v 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. GEORGQLEEVAMS.

By i IRWIN GUTMAN. M

AT1-orma.

` bers.

Patented Jan. `16, 1945 A .c-fifr:

George E. Evans,` Pittsburgh, Pa., and Irwin Gutman, Lynbrook, N. Y.

Application February 16, 1.942', Serial No. 431,002

4 Claims.

1 Our inventi'on relates to septic tanks for the l disposal of sewage, and more particularly to septic tanks of a multichamber form.

` One object of our invention is to provide septic tank structure of such form that, given a number of units of standard forms, they can be conveniently arranged in multiples, without the use of connecting pipes that are subject to clogging, tol-form .a desired number of sewage digestion chambers, in accordance with the quantity of The sections as here shown 'may suitably be formed of clay after the manner of flue liners, whichv are usually made by the extrusion method and then cutv to suitable lengths. Also, they can be formed of concrete. When so formed, they can have the openings cut therein while green, including openings for an inlet pipe l and an outlet or effluent pipe I6. Likewise the ends of the sections may be cut away at4 I8, I9,

sewage to be cared for by a particular installa- Another object of our -invention is to provide a septic tank structure :of multiple-chamber. arrangemen't, wherein communicating openings for passageways are so located andv of such form that I bacteria mats will readily ybe formed in all of the chambers of a series, and wherein there will be in effect a Continuous matextending throughout f all of the chambers, and also more uniform vdistribution lof sludge in the blottomsjof` the cham- While our invention is hereinafter described having units which may conveniently be formed of clay such as that employed -in the making of sewer pipes or flue liners, it will be understood that the tanks herein described can be other materials, including metal.

Some oi the forms which our invention may take are slrownin the accompanying drawings,

made o-f structure, with a portion of its cover broken away; Fig. 2 is a view taken on the line I I-II of Fig. l; Fig. 3 is an elevational view of one of the chambers of Fig. 2, looking in the direction of the arwhereinFigure l is a'planview of a septic tank rows IIL-III; Fig. 4 is a plan view of an'other arrangement of septic tank chambers, witha porvtion of the cover broken away; Fig. 5 is aview taken on the'line V-V of Fig. 4; Fig. 6 is an end View of the structure of Fig. 5; Fig. 7 is a view similar to that lof Fig, 4, but showing still another g arrangement of digestion chambers; Fig. V8 is a viewtaken on the line VIII-VIII of Fig. 7; Fig.

9 is an end view of the structure of Fig. 8.

Referring rst to Figs. 1 to 3, we yshow astructure wherein three chambers I0, II and I2- are provided. Whileeach of these chambers could be formed ofa-single piece oimaterial, We show them as composed of upper and lower sections that are complementally .beaded and groovedf` as shown atv I 3, so that the'upper and lower sections y 2U and 2| to provide passages for the flow of the sewage.` While the parts are still green, inlet and outlet bailles 23 and 24 respectively of green clay can be pressed into place. Also, the beads and' grooves at I3 can beV then formed. Thereafter the parts,` in disassembled relation, can be red in accordance with theusual practice in the art of making sewer pipe and the like. Ii desired, the eiiluent pipe ZIB may discharge into an eliluent chamber of conventional form'. -vAfter rllg bf the sections, they can be brought together in; assembledrelation at a place of installation, as shown in Figs. l to 3, a suitable coneretefoundation or bed plate 26I being first provided. The sections `can be placed while the base 26 is still slightly soft, or a sealing compound used, toprevent leaking. I This bed plate 26 serves as a bottom for all of the chambers, but it will be understood that each chamber` canbe provided withan individual bottom. s

.It will be seen that theelements are so arranged ,as to have their openings I8, I9, 20 `and 2'I, respectively, inalignment. It will alsobe seen that -if only av two-.chamber arrangement is required,

the elements that compose the middle chamber I I will be omitted andthe chambers I0 and I2 placed in abutting relation. Similarly, if more than three chambers are required, additional chambers I I can be inserted between the chambers Ill and I2. The passageway formed by the openings I8 permit the filling of the chambers simultaneously to 'a common level, and thepassageways at 2l not only permit flow fromv the inlet chamber to the 'outletchamber when the sewage in the tank is at its normallevel, but also permits the forming of la continuous bacteria mat, extending through all Iof the chambers. It will be seen that the palssageways at ZI are of sufficient -width that a sub- .,stantial rate of flowfcan take'place vfrom one I8 permit of the passage of the less buoyant solids that enter at the inlet I5' from the inlet chamber to the other chambers, in which other chambers these solids willgradually rise to assist; in formthe contacting-faces of fthe chamber walls as at the points III, when 'assembling the units, to preing aI bacteria-mat. 'The passageways 'at 149-7-20 permit longer yuse 'of the tank structure between cleaning out periods, since if non-'digestible sludge fills up the lower portions of the chambers, clogging the openings I8, communication between the tanks will still be had at ISI-20, below the plane of the baffles 23-24.

In order to hold the tank sections firmly together until the sealing material hardens and until the earth has been filled in and tamped around the tank, which is usually set in a pit, we provide a clamping device which comprises strips 22 of wood or other suitable material that are drawn together by twisting a wire orrope 25 that extends through the openings I9-20 and around the strips. These'members 22 and 25 can be removed after completion of the installation or can be allowed to remain in place.

By providing the cut-outs in the adjacent walls of the sections, instead of employing pipe connections between the sections, the structure can be made more compact and more cheaply, and with less danger of clogging. A suitable cover 21 is provided to permit of convenient access for cleaning and for removing any obstructions at the baffles 23-24,

at some point exteriorly of the septic tank structure. It will also be understood that if for any reason it is desired to discontinue use of one of the seriesv of chambers', one of the pipes 54 or 55 can be closed.

. In this instance, as in the case of the other gures, sealing compound can be placed between the abutting faces of the chambers. If it is desired to avoid delay in installation, incident toA waiting for the concrete base l58 to harden, the

y,units comprising the chambers can be assem- In Figs. 4, 5 and 6, we show an arrangement l wherein the individual sections are formed somewhat as in Figs. l to 3, but wherein a plurality of the chambers are grouped in rectangular forms instead of rectilinear alignment, the passageways being so formed that there will be tortuous flow through ythe various chambers as indicated by the broken line 29. In this arrangement, the nist chamber 3U has its upper opening 3| cut through a wall t0 one side of the inlet sewer 28 instead of directly to the front thereof, and the adjacent opening 3| of chamber 32 has its uppermostcutout 3i in alignment with 'the opening through the wall of chamber 30. The succeeding chambers 33, 34, 35, 36, all have communicating openings at 3T, 38, l39 and 40, so as to provide a tortuous path of howv to an eflluent or outlet pipe 4|. sections are provided with bottom openings 42 and intermediate openings 43 beneath their upper openings or passageways, at 3|, 31, 38, 39'` and 4l), in the same relative yarrangement as are The the openings I5, I9', 2U and' 2| of Fig. 3, so that there will be communication between the chambers at various levels. In thisv arrangement, as

in the case o-f Fig'. 1, there can be a bacteria mat formed that extends throughout the entire surface area of the chambers. Also, the sludge will be distributed throughout a number of chambers,- thus` requiring less frequent` cleaning out. The tortuous path gives a longer line of' iiow in a limited space and therefore results in. a longer time for settling oi'lthe solids and a more claried ellluerit at the outlet.

Referring new' to'Figs. '7 to 9, 'we snow an 'arrangement wherein: two series of 'septic tank lchambers are arranged vin parallel relation. The one series comprises chambers 45, 46 and 41, which communicate with one another in the same manner as do the chambers Ill,` |I and l2 of Fig. 1,- and the chambers 48', 49 and 50 communicate with one another, in like manner; 'A' sewage inlet pipe 5| is provided that: is common `to the bled on the base while it is still somewhat soft and be temporarily maintained in alignment and against relative settling by the use of wooden Dlugs or Wedges 5'!!`r driven through holes provided in the sides of the chambers, and these plugs will maintain the parts in properly tting relation until the concrete base has entirely hardened. A similar temporary interlocking arrangement can be provided for the structures of various of the other figures.

We claim as our invention l. Septic tank structure comprising a plurality of chambers of generally rectangular form in their horizontal planes and sequentially arranged in side-by-side abutting relation, the abutting walls oi the chambers having cut-out areas at their upperv and lower edges, to provide passageways between the chambers, a base plate closing the lower extremities of the chambers and supporting them inv relatively assembled relation, and means covering said chambers, inlet and outlet openings being provided at opposite ends of the` series of assembled chambers.

2. Septic tank structure comprising a plurality of chambers each of which is of generally rectangular form in horizontal cross section, the chambers being sequentially arranged with adjacent side walls in abutting relation, the uppermost and lowermcst portions of said walls being partly' cut away to provide communication between the chambers, the iirst chamber of the series having an inlet opening and the last chamber of the series having an outletopening, and

3. Septic tank structure comprising a plurality of chambers arranged in abutting side-byside relation, in directions both longitudinally and transversely of the structure, sequentially ar- 'ranged vopenings being provided through the abutting walls, in transverse and longitudinal directions, -succ'essively', whereby a tortuous path of ow is provided -from one end of the structure to the opposite end thereof, inlet and outlet openings being provided at opposite ends of the series of assembled chambers, and a base-plate for the structure.

- 4. Septic tank 'structure comprising inlet and outlet chambers and an 'intermediate chamber, each Vcomprising elements of generally rectangular form in: cross secti'on'and arranged in sideby-side'upright position, with their side walls in abutting relation, the abutting side Walls being cut-away at their upper andV lower ends to form passageways, inlet and outlet means for the tank structure, and a base plate therefor, each cham-v ber comprising a tubular member that is adapted to havey placed 'thereon another tubular member withv similarly arranged'cut-outareas at its ends'.

y. v GEORGE E. EVANS;

IRWIN GUTMAN. 

